A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange near a copy of "Bloomberg Markets" magazine featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin on the cover. / Andrew Burton, Getty Images

by Adam Shell, USA TODAY

by Adam Shell, USA TODAY

NEW YORK - Stocks bounced back Tuesday and investors sent the Standard & Poor's 500 to a record high close, as a dissipation in tensions in Ukraine was greeted with relief by bulls.

The S&P 500 jumped 28.18 points, or 1.5% to 1,873.91, easily eclipsing its prior closing record high of 1,859.45.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 227.85 points, or 1.4%, to 16,395.88, erasing all of yesterday's 154-point drop. The Dow and S&P 500 saw their best day of 2014.

The Nasdaq composite added 74.67 points, or 1.8% to 4,351.97, climbing to yet another fresh 14-year high. The Russell 2000, a small stock index, also hit record-high territory.

Trading in financial markets Tuesday was the mirror image of Monday's price action. Risk-taking came back after yesterday's flight-to-quality trade. Stocks surged and perceived safe havens, such as U.S. government bonds and gold, were falling and giving back large chunks of Monday's gains.

Global stocks advanced as investor concerns over the Ukraine crisis eased after Russian President Vladimir Putin said there is "no need yet" to increase his country's military presence there. Putin's decision to end military exercises in the region and send Russian troops back to their bases also helped ease fears in global financial markets.

The U.S. decision to put together a $1 billion loan package for the Ukraine also reduced fears of a financial crisis in the beleaguered country.

Citing the strong performance of small-cap stocks, which typically do well in up markets, Chris Verrone, an analyst at Strategas Research Partners said the market's ability to rebound was a good sign.

The easing of tensions in Ukraine, coupled with a drop in investor fear, has given risk-assets a major boost.

"Investors are reacting to events unfolding overseas," says Karee Venema of Schaeffer's Investment Research. "Specifically, Putin overnight saying that while he has the right to use force, he noted that there is 'no need yet' to use force."

Gold prices gave back some of Monday's 2.2% gain, retreating about $15 per ounce, or 1.1%, to $1,335. U.S government bonds also saw selling, pushing the yield, which moves in the opposite direction up to 2.70%, from 2.60% Monday.

Oil prices dipped roughly 1.5% Tuesday after spiking 2.3% yesterday. Wall Street feared energy supplies could be impacted due to the possibility of Western sanctions against Russia for its military incursion into the Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. Russia is one of the world's leading energy exporters.

Benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery was down $1.61 per barrel to $103.30 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.5% at 14,721.48 while China's Shanghai composite fell 0.2% to 2,071.47.

European shares staged broad-based gains as well. London's FTSE 100 was up 1.7% to 6,823.77, Germany's DAX rose 2.5% to 9,589.15 and France's CAC 40 was 2.5% higher to 4,395.90.

On Monday, the S&P 500 index fell 13.72 points, or 0.7%, to 1,845.73. The Dow dropped 153.68 points, or 0.9%, to 16,168.03. The Nasdaq composite fell 30.82, or 0.7%, to 4,277.30.

Developments in Ukraine have dominated the start of what is likely to be a busy week on the economic news front. As well as a raft of U.S. economic data that culminates with Friday's nonfarm payrolls figures for February, investors have the monthly policy meeting from the European Central Bank to monitor.

Russia's benchmark Micex Index jumped 4.2% after it plunged 11%, the most since November 2008 in the prior trading session, according to Bloomberg.